The Best Main Nioh Bosses: All 24 Ranked Worst to First

Mechanic wise Honda is a fairly straight forward and predictable boss that has slow attacks and easily readable moves. However, unless you are using magic this fight can be nothing short of frustrating as Honda can activate a buff that lets him heal 600 HP a second. Not only is this insanely frustrating to play against, but can stall a lot of players progress who are skill solely because their gear doesn’t output enough damage per hit. Tadakatsu isn’t a boss that rewards skilled, thoughtful play but if you got lucky and received a high level weapon drop.

23. Derrick the Executioner Nioh Bosses Ranked

The first boss you face is also the easiest, as Derrick really doesn’t offer anything special to the fight outside of giving players a very minor skill check before the main story begins. His moves are insanely telegraphed and Derrick’s health pool is very low meaning this fight can be over in less than a minute for a skilled player. Even when he shifts to his second form it’s still the same move set just slightly sped up, which really doesn’t add anything meaningful to the fight.

22. Edward Kelley best Nioh Bosses Ranked

For someone who is supposed to be one of Nioh’s main villains, Kelley is kinda a huge push over. While he does hit hard, Edward only has a small amount of moves he can use, meaning that he’s insane predictable and exploitable. By now players will have learned the finer points of human to human combat, meaning a predictable foe like Kelley is super easy to finish off. While his design is pretty cool, there is really nothing special to this fight and it ends up being simply anti-climactic.

21. Great Centipede best Nioh Bosses Ranked

Oh boy, talk about a lame boss. The Great Centipede may seem intimidating at first but this massive boss can be easily cut down to size and exploited thanks to the massive stone pillar in the middle of the arena. You can just bait him into an attack and run to the other side to do some damage, making this fight laughably easy. Even if you decide to battle this bug in a traditional manner, it’s still really easy because he can barely do any damage to you with half of its attacks. For a boss in a poison-filled arena, this creature was just a lame way to end a tedious mission.

20. Um-Bozu best Nioh Bosses Ranked

If there’s one boss everyone loves to hate it’s Um-Bozu. Not only does this massive blob of water have an insanely large health pool but it has a one hit attack that takes up half of the arena you are fighting on. Then there are the little blob monsters he summons if you didn’t light all the fires, his second form being able to throw out attacks with massive hitboxes, and Um-Bozu’s hard hitting strikes. While he can be easy enough to beat once you figure out his pattern, it’s a poor boss design that goes for cheap tactics rather than thoughtful mechanics the player has to overcome.

19. Tachibana Muneshige (Fake) best Nioh Bosses Ranked

One of Nioh’s first real humanoid bosses, the fake version of Tachibana Muneshige is a compelling enough fight as the man has some very strong moves. However, the problem is that you can easily stun lock or interrupt a vast majority of his attacks meaning it’s easy to corner him and leave this imposter defenseless. While his Guardian Spirit’s ability to inflict paralysis can be annoying, it’s fairly easily dodged and doesn’t last long.

18. Obsidian Samurai Nioh Bosses Ranked

Obsidian Samurai is effectively a very slow, very easily killed Revenant. The difficulty in this fight is solely dependant on how good you are at reading attacks as all of the Obsidian Samurai’s moves leave him wide open for punishment. While he can pose a challenge from time to time, it’s nothing significant as he has a very standard suite of attacks that really don’t mix up combat in a fun or interesting way.

17. Yamata-No-Orochi Nioh Bosses Ranked

Yamata-No-Orochi is kinda underwhelming as far as final bosses go, as the massive serpant really does pose much of a challenge to a skilled Nioh player. It has a rather bland assortment of ranged attacks and a fairly predictable slam attack that’s really easy to dodge. While fighting on a rooftop during a storm is awesome, it’s an arena not befitting of such an medicore adversary.

16. Onryoki best Nioh Bosses Ranked

Your first true boss in Nioh is a decent enough challenge as the unique arena forces players to get up close and personal with him. His attacks hit hard, but are fair enough when it comes to actually dodging them. However, after his chains break Onryoki becomes extremely predictable as he will either just try and swipe at you or throw one of two metal balls at William. This makes him easy to read and kill once you eventually rid him of his weapon in the fight.

14. Toro-Gumo best Nioh Bosses Ranked

Hey a boss that actually has the intelligence to cover her main weak spot! Just that alone nets this creepy spider/human hybrid some points, however, doing this basically makes her a giant potato that can barely move. Toro-Gumo is a boss that on paper sounds awesome, but sadly only deliver a mediocre encounter that is not nearly as threatening as all of her spiderlings outside the arena.

14. Ogress best Nioh Bosses Ranked

The Ogress succeeds more in a story and design aspect than the actual fight itself. This entire battle has a really tragic feeling to it as the Ogress will weep and cry during the entire fight. As for fighting her, well… all you really need to do is stick to her backside as almost every one of her moves is frontward facing. With the exception of a jump attack, she really can be easily conquered if you stay behind her or bait the flamethrower attack so she’s wide open. But hey, at least the arena is absolutely gorgeous, right?

13. White Tiger best Nioh Bosses Ranked

While the White Tiger isn;t a bad boss by any means, it really isn’t anything special or interesting that makes it stand out amongst the other contenders. While battling the spirit companion that has been following you for half the game is cool from a narrative perspective, it’s just a mediocre fight. This is primarily due to his attacks really don’t offer anything new and the fight can be over fairly quickly if you know how read his movements.

12. Gasha-Dokuro best Nioh Bosses Ranked

This massive skeletal boss is quite unique as it requires the player to utilize various magical pools around them to buff their strikes so they can damage Gasha-Dokuro. However, this quickly slides into repetition and can become rather tedious once your realize this boss only has a few moves it can actually use to hit William. Yet, the cinematic elements of the fight are hard to ignore as teaming up with two other A.I. controlled characters to slay this massive beast is quite a thrill and Gasha-Dokuro has a fairly cool area you have to fight him in.

11. Okatsu best Nioh Bosses Ranked

This boss battle is actually rather difficult as she has a plethora of ranged and close-quarters attacks that can send her clear across the room in an instant. Okatsu is quite a challenge if you are not prepared for the sheer speed of her strikes, however, it’s pretty easy to bait her into performing the same move over and over again if you just keep your distance from her.

10. Nue best Nioh Bosses Ranked

Nue is a boss that closely resembles Darkbeast Paarl from Bloodborne as they are both electrified, fast moving bosses that reward balancing aggression and defensive play. This chimera monster is quite enjoyable to fight as he is both a significant challenge, but one that never feels unfair to the player. You may die quite a few times before slaying him, as Nue’s move set allows it to remain unpredictable. The only major complaint is that is may spam the lighting strike attack too much, meaning it can be hard to get more then a hit in before you have to run away.

9. Hundred Eyes best Nioh Bosses Ranked

Hundred Eyes is certainly one of the better giant Yokai bosses in Nioh. This monsters can not only dish out some rather impressive melee strikes, but has the ability to summon magical eyes that shoot freaking laser beams. Hundred Eyes is a significant challenge as his attacks deal a heavy amount of damage and the big lug isn’t afraid to just leave himself exposed as he’ll teleport away.

8. Hino-Enma best Nioh Bosses Ranked

The first real skill check in Nioh, Hino-Enma is a vampiric woman that is both incredibly fast and deadly. Her move set can deal hefty damage, while her ranged moves have the ability to straight up paralyze you if you’re hit. This makes her very dangerous and can lead to some frustrating deaths if you’re not careful. Nonetheless, Hino-Enma is an adrenaline rush of a boss battle that will force you on the defense from the very first move. Not only is this a great change of pace compared to the other bosses, but it helps teach players how to telegraph attacks.

7. Otani Yoshitsugu best Nioh Bosses Ranked

While many of the humanoid fights are perhaps the best part of Nioh, Otani Yoshitsugu is effectively a revenant battle just on a bigger, scarier scale. His speed and levitation can make him difficult to track when battling, which compliments his dual swords quite nicely. This is a battle about waiting for the briefest of openings to capitalize on. It’s challenging, yet never feels weighted in favor of Otani at any point even when he gains some new attacks later on into the battle that can pretty much kill you if they land.

6. Ishida Mitsunari best Nioh Bosses Ranked

Hey, so you know that awesome Living Weapon mechanic that supercharges your attacks? Yeah, the developers decided to give it to a boss and it made for one of the most entertaining and arguably toughest fights in the game. Ishida does not let up once the fight begins, forcing the player to dodge incoming projectiles while staying out of range of his weapon. This forces more defensive tactics as Ishida is very aggressive and will punish you badly if you run out of stamina. Even though he has a rather predictable pattern, Ishida is still a very memorable fight that stands as one of Nioh’s best bosses.

5. Saika Magoichi Nioh Bosses Ranked

Saika is perhaps one of the most well balanced fights in all of Nioh, as this warrior not only provides a strong close quarters fight but one at a distance too. This is thanks to his rifle, bombs, and the wings his Guardian Spirit grants him. Magoichi has the ability to always keep the player moving, forcing them to roll, block, and parry his strikes if they want a clean opening to attack. Despite being able to inflict a lot of damage, Saika is a highly entertaining fight that never let’s go once it begins.

4. Yuki-Onna Nioh Bosses Ranked

The frost lady herself, Yuki is an exceptionally strong boss who’s ranged attacks can instantly kill the player if they don;t learn how to read her moves. Unlike most bosses Yuki has a rather large pool of moves to draw from, which makes her difficult to predict and even harder to exploit. Yet, it’s because of this that makes her so damn fun to fight as she will always keep the player on their toes and even force them away from her via an Area of Effect ice bomb. Yuki also has an absolutely wonderful design and boss arena, that easily stands out from the typical “just a big dojo room” boss fights you’ll encounter.

3. Oda Nobungana

Coming in at number 3 is the resurrected general Oda Nobungana, who has perhaps one of the most gorgeous looking Guardian Spirits in all of Nioh. While the fight itself is incredibly challenging based on his fast striking, hard hitting moves it’s his magic that makes this battle so memorable. Oda has the ability to utilize any type of element found in this game, meaning he has a rather power set of buffs he can infuse himself at a moments notice. This makes his fight quite interesting as it forces you to adapt on the fly to whatever element he decides to unveil next.

2. Giant Toad

My personal favorite, the Giant Toad is the ninja master of the trick house manor you get to explore in the Tokai Region. While his actual appearance his cool enough, the Giant Toad is by far the best Yokai in the entire game. He rarely leaves the player any big openings, meaning you have to really study and understand this boss if you want to efeat him. Couple this with his powerful staff and assortment of status effect bombs to get one of the most memorable foes in all of Nioh. Plus, you don’t kill him at the end meaning he can continue going on and being an awesome reptilian ninja.

1. Shima Sakon

The winner for the best boss in Nioh is none other then the samurai warrior Shima Sakon. This battle is all about timing and precision as the long staff that he wields makes it very difficult to get in close as his moves have a wide hitbox radius. His strikes also take a considerable portion of your health away, which encourages you to take your time and wait for the right moment to strike. This battle is a dance and you need to be patient in order to succeed which can be challenging given how fast Shima can move across the arena. Along with this is his Guardian Spirit which can infuse his spear with electiricty, making him even deadlier if the man lands a combo on you. Plus, the arena is rather haunting and serves an excellent backdrop for one of best moments in the entire game.

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24. Honda Tadakatsu

Mechanics wise, Honda is a fairly straight forward and predictable boss that has slow attacks and easily readable moves. However, unless you are using magic, this fight can be nothing short of frustrating as Honda can activate a buff that lets him heal 600 HP a second. Not only is this insanely frustrating to play against, it can stall a lot of skilled players solely because their gear doesn't output enough damage per hit. Tadakatsu isn't a boss that rewards thoughtful play, just lucky high level weapon drops.